[dean_man]

Hello,

I've been looking at SS amplifiers to replace my trusty and modified but old NAD 2200 PE.  I'm currently using the NAD amp with a tube linestage by YS Audio and a Wright tube phono stage + SUT.  I listen mostly to vinyl.

My list is down to just a few amps, one of which is the stereo Stratos.

My linestage has an output impedance of 600 ohms at 1K Hz, and the recommended load is 20K ohm or greater.

Would the Stratos be compatible with this linestage?   If so, any comments from those who moved from an NAD power amp to Odyssey?

Thanks for any help!

Jim

[bpape]

Not from NAD but I run a tubed pre with Stratos Mono Extreme SE's and it's a wonderful match.

Bryan

[bunky]

I moved from a 200 wpc Rotel RB1080 to the Odyssey power amplifiers and i have never had any regrets. thanks....WCW III

[bunky]

Dean_man,is your preamplifier an Audio Experience linestage ? i have a friend named Dennis Gardner who frequents the Club Polk website who has used one with a Stratos for several years with very good results

[byteme]

I've used my Stratos Mono Extremes with 3 tubed pre's and never had a problem with them.  Sonic Frontiers SFL-1, Philly Audio Blues 7b and deHavilland Ultraverve.  Great synergy!

[dean_man]

Dean_man,is your preamplifier an Audio Experience linestage ? i have a friend named Dennis Gardner who frequents the Club Polk website who has used one with a Stratos for several years with very good results

Yes, it is the Symphonies model.  I have read about some tube linestages and/or preamps that have a hard time with the Stratos, and I'm wanting to make sure that the electrical match will be ok.  Thanks.

Jim

[lazydays]

for quite awhile I ran a very similar setup to what you are thinking about. But I ran a Quicksilver linestage most of the time. Worked well, but felt the need to move on up the ladder, and bought one of the first Candellas built. Never looked back, and I've had four different tube preamps hooked up to my mono blocs. These mono blocs don't seem to be very picky about whatkind of tubed preamp you put in front of them, but not all of them will sound as good as the others.
    I even went so far as to use the Wright WP100 phono stage for quit awhile, but have since changed it out for AVA's best tube phono stage.
gary

[Lkdog]

I also wondered about the matching of tube preamps with the Stratos impedance.
I think the whole preamp output>amp input impedance ratio thing is overstated.

No problems at all with my Audio Mirror PP1 with an output impedance of nearly 2K and my Mono Extremes.

I think the Candela is around 2K ohms actually per early spec sheets that an end user received.
Of course no problems with Mono Extremes which have a fairly low input impedance of 11K, or 18k depending on different reports.

Talk with Klaus or Alex.
These guys are quite thorough in their knowledge and database they keep.

[dean_man]

Thanks to all for your input and suggestions.

I phoned Alex and then I phoned Klaus.  Terrific people, and surprisingly generous with their time--I've never encountered such courtesy from a small and very busy business and I was blown away...

Enough so that I abandoned my plan to find a used one on a'gon and ordered a Stratos last night from Klaus.  Needless to say I am very much looking forward to receiving it. 

Thanks again!

Jim

[Lkdog]

I am sure you will be quite happy.
The build quality on these amps is outstanding and the sound is fantastic.
Go as high up the food chain as you can afford and you can always upgrade more later.

Klaus is a really great guy.

I am sure it is only a matter of time before I upgrade my Mono Extremes to SE's.

[AnalogDog]

All I can say is, my Quicksilver full function tube preamp works great with my Stratos monoblocs! Of course, it does have an output impedance of only 12.5 ohms, so it'll drive ANYthing.

[TheChairGuy]

I ran my Khartago mono's with three different tube pre's, as well....I liked them all in combination.

Of all, I thought the Quicksilver Full Function (mine with original twin rectifiers in it) pre-amp also sounded the best with them (the tube preamp that I still own)

[Wizard454]

Dean_man,
I moved from a NAD 7100X (receiver) which has the equiv of a 2100PE power amp in it running into Paradigm 60V2's. This combo was quite nice but the speakers need (demanded) more controll. After a lot of research and humming & hawing I went with the Mono extreme SE's. I ran the pre-amp section of the NAD for awhile which worked (I thought) very well with the mono's put new there was more to be gained. Picked up a Sonic Frontiers Line 2 ( input imp. 150 ohms unbalanced) and this unit made a huge difference. The SF needed some work done to it so sent it off to PCX and had Chris Johnson do the full monty on it turning it into an SE++. SPECTACTULAR to say the least!!!! 
The only thing I find is that I need to have the volume control between 45-55 on the read out so to me that would indictate it's not an optimum match but will still push the amps to play plenty load with absolutely NO discernable distortion or degradation in sound quality.
My Bryston BP26 (SS) pre-amp seems to be a better impedance match and brings different qualities to the table and is also SPECTACTULAR with the mono's.
I'm in audio heaven and will be quite happy here for some time to come.

Good luck with your quest and hope you find what your searching for.